Legarda: It is High Time to Strengthen Protection
of Filipino Domestic Workers

Senator Loren Legarda today prodded the government to urgently consider the entry of the Philippines as a state party to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 189, otherwise known as "Domestic Workers Convention, 2011".

Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, has filed Senate Resolution No. 615, urging the present administration to immediately look into the possibility that the Philippines be a signatory of the convention that promotes legal and social support for Filipino domestic workers, local and overseas.

The Senator said that the convention will safeguard the rights and promote the welfare of Filipino domestic workers.

She explained that the new ILO standards set out that domestic workers around the world who care for families and households, must have the same basic labor rights as those available to other workers: reasonable hours of work, weekly rest of at least 24 consecutive hours, a limit on in-kind payment, clear information on terms and conditions of employment, as well as respect for fundamental principles and rights at work including freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.

"It is imperative for us to ensure the improvement of the working conditions of Filipino domestic workers worldwide," she said.

"The ILO pronouncements set international standards that would make sure domestic workers enjoy effective protection against abuse and other forms of violence," Legarda stressed.